Louis Braille School

The Louis Braille School held its First Annual Benefit Auction on Saturday, April 14, 2007. Supporters gathered at the Edmonds Conference Center for an afternoon of fun and lively bidding that raised over $8400. The proceeds will benefit the students who are served through the School’s unique educational program for children who are blind or visually impaired. Paul Rucker, Director of Alumni Relations for the University of Washington Alumni Association, greeted guests as they began to peruse an appealing variety of items available for bid in the silent auction.

Others visited the hands-on exhibits where they wrote their names in braille, met a guide dog, tried on goggles that simulated various vision conditions, and learned about jobs for people who are blind at the Lighthouse for the Blind.

Special guests included puppies in training to be guide dogs and their trainers. The puppies are raised by families who teach them basic obedience and good manners. When they are about 18 months old, the puppies return to the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus for formal training to be guides.

After the silent auction closed, emcee Paul Rucker was joined by auctioneer Doug Hildie for the live auction. The most popular item was a gift basket and four tickets on the 30-yard-line to the Husky/Cal game donated by the UW Alumni Association.

David Horsey, Seattle PI political cartoonist, joined Carolyn Meyer, Louis Braille School director, at the podium to present the first Louis Braille School Distinguished Service Award to David’s mother, Jeanne Horsey. Jeanne’s pioneering work, beginning in the 1950s, resulted in braille textbooks becoming available for blind students in the Seattle public schools.

David Horsey then introduced the afternoon’s Fund-A-Need. Generous guests donated enough to purchase equipment with which the School can create tactile drawings for students who are blind. A surprise check from the Schuman Trust, presented by Sue Ammeter of the Washington Council of the Blind doubled the fund.

The afternoon ended with an auction of the unique “hand tulip” table centerpieces made by the children of the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett.

The first Louis Braille School Benefit Auction was a great success and could not have taken place without the generosity of the donors who contributed to the event. A special thanks goes to the many volunteers who not only did an exceptional job at the event, but also spent many long weeks preparing for the afternoon.